GOD
TOLD ME TO (1976) Blu-ray
Director: Larry Cohen
Blue Underground

A unique film whose title may ward of the curious, Larry Cohen's chilling
GOD TOLD ME TO blends horror, sci-fi and gritty scenes of big-city terrorism
which look they could have been pulled from current news headlines. The New
York-lensed film has developed more than a small cult following, and is now
available on Blu-ray looking better than ever and featuring a number of exclusive
bonus features to this release.

Tony LoBianco (THE HONEYMOON KILLERS) is Peter Nicholas, a grizzled
New York City police detective and devoted Catholic cheating on his neurotic
wife (Sandy Dennis, THE OUT OF TOWNERS) with a younger woman (Deborah Raffin,
THE SENTINEL). He begins investigating a series of bizarre, apparently motiveless
murders occurring all over the city, with all of the culprits muttering the
same thing: "God told me to." He tracks down who may be responsible
for this rash of homicides; a mysterious Bernard Phillips who was conceived
in a virgin birth which might have been induced by an alien rape. What power
does Phillips hold over these people and how is he connected to these atrocities?
And how is Peter himself connected to these morbid events?

Opening with a positively horrifying sequence of oblivious New York
City pedestrians being shot and killed by a hidden sniper on top of a water
tower, the audience is jolted awake and made well aware GOD TOLD ME TO is not
your run-of-the-mill horror film. And coming from Larry Cohen, responsible for
the killer baby in IT'S ALIVE and the winged serpent in Q, this shouldn't come
as a surprise. Only this time Cohen has written a tale of monsters we never
see, creatures that may be responsible for religion as we know it and who have
now created human forms of Good and Evil, who must battle it out by the finale.
Several memorable horror sequences stick out, including the infamous St. Patrick's
Day Parade shooting spree (starring none other than late comedian Andy Kaufman
in his pre- “Taxi” years as the psycho policeman), an out-of-left-field
attack in a dark hallway by the crazed mother of a suspect and LoBianco questioning
an indifferent father who has just murdered his entire family with a shotgun.
This last sequence is particularly unnerving.

Larry Cohen's subtle sense of humor is still on-hand, with lines such
as "The Irish have been waiting all year for this day, you're not going
to ruin it for them!" when the prospect of canceling the parade comes up.
In the end, the movie takes a while to start making sense (if it ever eventually
does), with plenty of intrigue to please those seeking something different.
The characters and performances are not up to par with Cohen's other horror
films, but the script is still wholly captivating, with more plot twists than
a Dario Argento giallo. The developments of the religious angle are continuously
surprising as are the secret alien inseminations, colliding into one singular
plot that few horror films would attempt before or since. You will either be
confused and upset by this film or you will wonder how a talent like Cohen still
remains virtually unnoticed by the mainstream. The great supporting cast includes
Mike Kellin (the camp owner in SLEEPAWAY CAMP) and the wonderful Sylvia Sidney,
silver screen star of the 1930s who is better-known for her appearances as the
chain-smoking caseworker Juno in BEETLEJUICE and wise-cracking grandma in MARS
ATTACKS!. Also on hand is character actor Mason Adams (from the long-running
“Lou Grant” series) as an obstetrician and the late, great Richard
Lynch (THE SEVEN-UPS), who is properly creepy (and perfectly cast) as the otherworldly
Bernard Phillips. The biggest surprise is George Patterson (the maniac Rollo
in David Durston’s I DRINK YOUR BLOOD) as a knife-wielding pimp who stabs
a crooked policeman to death and writes GOD on the wall in the dead man's blood!

As an upgrade to their decade-old DVD release, Blue Underground's new
Blu-ray of GOD TOLD ME TO is transferred in 4K High Definition from the original
uncensored negative (sporting the New World Pictures logo), and looks miles
above its standard def predecessor. Presented in 1080p in the original 1.85:1
aspect ratio, some interior scenes that were too dark on the DVD look much better
now, with the overall image having extremely bright colors and an attractive
appearance. Detail is consistently sharp, and when grain is on display, its
never overbearing and gives the film a nice, natural filmic look especially
during the documentary-like NYC crowd shot scenes (and it’s always a pleasure
to get a glance of Manhattan circa 1975). Three audio options are present here:
7.1 DTS-HD, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround EX and DTS-HD mono. All are strong tracks,
but since the film is a dialogue-driven piece, only a few sequences will benefit
from the extra attention paid by the surround sound mix. The 7.1 track is a
surprisingly effective and aggressive mix, particularly in the parade scene,
with music and effects used nicely in all of the channels. Optional subtitles
are provided in English SDH, French and Spanish.

The extras kick off with
a Larry Cohen audio commentary (recorded in 2003 and carried over from the DVD
release), moderated by BU head Bill Lustig. Cohen is a warm and engaging commentator,
and rarely runs out of things to say. He still remains proud of the film, regarded
as his least accessible, and tells some really great behind-the-scenes stories,
including pointing out where stock footage occurs, working with the great cast,
and fascinating tales of shooting on-location in New York City. Interestingly
enough, Bernard Herrmann was to compose the musical score and saw GOD TOLD ME
TO on the last night of his life before passing away, allowing Frank Cordell
to take the reigns. It's another incredible commentary that is consistently
fascinating, and Cohen has fast become one of the best audio commentators out
there. All of the featurettes and interview segments are new to this Blu-ray
release. “Heaven & Hell On Earth - Interview with Star Tony Lo Bianco”
(11:27) has the actor talking about his role in the film and his feelings about
the character, that he was also starring in a play at the same time he was making
the film, and Cohen’s habit of “stealing shots” (shooting
on location without permission). He has nice things to say about his late co-star
Raffin, mentions that he loves having been in such a cult classic and he expresses
his dislike of a distasteful orifice which showed up on the screen in close-up
in this film. “Bloody Good Times - Interview with Special Effects Artist
Steve Neill” (9:09) has Neill discussing his childhood ambition to be
a monster maker, learning to do prosthetics, and eventually coming to Hollywood
and meeting Rick Baker, who introduced him to Cohen. He talks about doing effects
on this film, as well as THE PRIVATE FILES OF J, EDGAR HOOVER, FULL MOON HIGH,
THE STUFF, IT’S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVES, RETURN TO SALEM’S
LOT (all for Cohen), assuring that he always maintained a friendship with Cohen
despite him sometimes being tough to work with, and that he would like to work
with him again. Cohen himself is on for two videotaped Q & A sessions. “God
Told Me To Bone” (21:14) has him in a recent session at the New Beverly
Cinema in LA during a screening of GOLD TOLD ME TO, introducing the film with
humorous anecdotes about filming it, and then taking questions from the enthusiastic
audience afterwards (where he mentions Robert Forster was dismissed from the
film early on and replaced with LoBianco). “Lincoln Center Q&A with
Larry Cohen” (8:06) was recorded back in 2002, where Cohen had talked
about the film in front of a New York audience before a showing of GOD TOLD
ME TO. Under the title GOD TOLD ME TO, there’s a theatrical trailer and
five TV spots, and under the alternate DEMON title, there’s a trailer
and TV spots. The posters and stills gallery offers some nice surprises, including
the original GOD TOLD ME TO one-sheet (making it look like a disaster movie!),
the re-release poster under the title DEMON (which was the cover art for Anchor
Bay's VHS), the original tie-in paperback novel, a slew of publicity stills
and lobby cards, behind-the-scenes snapshots, pressbook ad mats, and video covers.(George
R. Reis and Casey Scott)